GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In the two-plus months since his Tulane team was knocked out of the College Football Playoff, leaving Jon Sumrall with only one job, it has seemed as if there might be a Sumrall doppelgänger sharing the chores as Florida’s first-year coach.

Sumrall sightings have been more rampant than peak Sasquatch detections in the 1970s.

One day, he’s on the road recruiting, the next, he’s courtside at a UF basketball game. One day, he’s in New Orleans packing up his old house, the next, he’s pumping weights with players at the Heavener Center. One day he’s hanging out at Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille, the next he’s dancing away from a live alligator on Florida Field.

And if you live mostly online, well, there has been no escaping Sumrall the past few weeks as he made the rounds on the podcast circuit after finalizing his staff, including the hiring of offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner and defensive coordinator Brad White.

Sumrall has recharged a Gators program that needed a fresh spark. He has done it with an authentic approach and with the casualness of a guy on the next barstool talking ball.

“I hate to break it to you, I’m undefeated right now,” Sumrall said last month. “We’re going to be in the foxhole at times. It ain’t always going to be good. We might lose a game here. But when it goes sideways, do you flinch? Are you so outcome-driven that you don’t weather the storm? We’re going to weather storms here, and we’re going to do it because we’re aligned and we’ve got each other’s backs.”

 

New numbers dropped ✍️ #GoGators pic.twitter.com/WGJujacjRF

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) March 2, 2026

Sumrall has spent the first part of the offseason building his program’s culture and disrupting any existing comfort zones.

That started with the offseason conditioning test called “The Gauntlet,” and revamped tactics in the weight room under the direction of Rusty Whitt, the head of the strength and conditioning program. Sumrall said he encountered many good people in the building when he arrived. He wanted to make them tougher. That has been much of the focus for the Gators, who are set to open spring camp on Tuesday morning.

“We played the game at Troy and at Tulane with a chip on our shoulder and an edge,” Sumrall told the “SEC Podcast” recently. “That’s the only way I know how to coach the game and play the game. Tough teams still win.”

With Sumrall’s first camp with the Gators about to commence, here is a primer:

 

SUMRALL SAMPLER
He has done more talking than coaching since arriving. That changes starting Tuesday. A few favorite Sumrall quotes from various sources as he introduced himself to Gator Nation:
 

“Winners win. I am a winner. We are going to win.”

“I’m a firm believer most football games are not won, but lost because someone will tap out. Somebody will quit, give in. I don’t want to find out in September who is going to tap out or what’s going to make them tap. I want to find out in February.”

“If you are juiceless, then you are useless. When I walk in, I want the whole room to change. I want our players to be that way.”

“If you’re tough, you love football and want to be coached, you’re going to love being a Florida Gator.”

“We’re gonna put the ball down in our spring game, and play the game. It’s gonna be tackle, American football, where we’re knocking the [crap] out of each other. That’s what we do.”

“Some coaches in this new world of transfer portal and NIL that we’re living in have gotten softer. I’ve probably gotten crazier.”

 

THE QB ROOM

Besides Sumrall’s arrival and his staff and roster makeover, the biggest news since the end of last season was quarterback DJ Lagway’s departure. Lagway transferred to Baylor, leaving Tramell Jones Jr. and Aaron Philo as the top candidates to start in 2026. According to Sumrall and offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, this is a wide-open competition. Aidan Warner and true freshman Will Griffin provide depth. How inexperienced are the Gators at the game’s most important position? They have 187 collegiate pass attempts on the roster, with Philo (102 at Georgia Tech), Warner (50 in emergency action in 2024), and Jones (35 a season ago as Lagway’s backup). Let the competition begin.

 

PAYING THE PRICE

The Gators started their offseason conditioning workouts without numbers or logos on their gear. Sumrall and Whitt challenged the players to earn those rights through “The Gauntlet,” a conditioning test Whitt brought from Tulane. The system includes six stations and a time limit to complete the drills. The Gators passed on their eighth attempt, and their work is reflected via the numbers on their updated roster released Monday. Sophomore defensive lineman Jayden Woods was a leader throughout the program, a good omen for one of the most talented players on the roster.

 

THE CATCH CREW
 

Florida’s talent at receiver should help the young quarterback room. Sophomores Vernell Brown III and Dallas Wilson are emerging stars, and if Wilson can get healthy (foot injuries have hampered him during his time at UF), he has the physical tools to be one of the country’s most dynamic playmakers (ask Texas for more insight). Meanwhile, newcomer Eric Singleton Jr., a transfer from Auburn, is a veteran with huge upside and the potential to be a difference-maker. And don’t forget about redshirt senior Kahleil Jackson, who earned a seventh year of eligibility due to a pair of season-ending knee injuries. Jackson has good hands and understands what it takes to battle for success at this level. He’s still around and has earned the respect of the new coaching staff.
 

TRANSFER TO WATCH

It’s hard to pick one with 50 new players on the roster (transfers and freshmen), but defensive lineman Emmanuel Oyebadejo has generated buzz inside the building with his work ethic, intelligence and physical tools. Oyebadejo is a redshirt sophomore who transferred from FCS-level Jacksonville State, where the 6-foot-6, 303-pound defensive lineman had 41 tackles and 4.5 sacks last season. A native of England, Oyebadejo looks the part. If he plays the part, Florida’s lack of depth on the defensive line might not be as much of an issue as some project.

 

BEST OF BEST

Much was made of the Gators’ ability to retain five of their most talented players: Brown III, Woods, Wilson, running back Jadan Baugh, and linebacker Myles Graham. Baugh is coming off the program’s first 1,000-yard rushing season in a decade, and Graham blossomed into a team leader and the team’s top tackler in 2025. They provide a strong core for Sumrall to build around and leadership that is imperative during the transition from the old way to the new way.

 

GATOR BOYS

Sumrall hired former UF players Phil Trautwein (offensive line coach who had wanted to return to UF for a long time) and Bam Hardmon (outside linebackers coach who played for Steve Spurrier and Ron Zook) to his inaugural staff. Both played for a Florida program that was much more successful than the current roster. Trautwein brought a pair of veteran offensive linemen with him from Penn State in TJ Shanahan Jr. and Eagan Boyer, and the Gators added Georgia Tech transfer center Harrison Moore and Emek Ugorji from Stanford. Meanwhile, Hardmon worked for Sumrall at Troy and Tulane and is familiar with the bruising style that Sumrall demands from the linebackers and defense overall.

 

BLOW THE WHISTLE

The Gators hit the field at 8:30 Tuesday morning, and Sumrall is scheduled to speak to the media afterward. Check out FloridaGators.com for coverage throughout the week as the Gators open the Sumrall era on the field, the place he is most at home.